The White House's attempt to temporarily ban new offshore oil-drilling projects in U.S. waters came a cropper in Federal District Court Tuesday. A federal judge issued an injunction on a six-month moratorium for deepwater drilling issued by President Barack Obama and his administration. The judge, Martin Feldman, said the administration failed to give adequate reason for the temporary ban, the Associated Press reports. A single-rig failure did not mean all deepwater drilling was dangerous, the judge ruled.

The Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida, Inc. (ABC) just announced they were backing Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, for CFO. Gary Stout, chairman of ABC, expressed Atwaters fiscal conservatism in the endorsement. "ABC stands for free enterprise, lower taxes, and fiscal responsibility and Jeff Atwater shares our philosophy," said Stout. "We look forward to doing all we can to elect Jeff Atwater the next CFO of Florida."

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio, running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, offered his take on the debate held this morning between the two leading Democratic candidates in the race -- U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene.

Democrats in the Legislature are going all out to urge Gov. Charlie Crist to hold a special session this summer to deal with the BP oil spill. Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, and Rep. Rick Kriseman, R-St. Petersburg, sent a letter to the governor Tuesday urging him to convene the Legislature. Both Gelber, a candidate for attorney general, and Fitzgerald are considered possibilities to be picked by CFO Alex Sink, the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate, as a running mate.

The debate between the two leading Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and billionaire investor Jeff Greene, is over. The two candidates have very different styles and backgrounds -- yet generally agree on most of the issues. Greene was a little abrasive and Meek was a little wooden -- and often seemed like a broken record, repeating the same talking points over and over again.

The debate between Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene seemed to be fizzling out since they both agreed on a number of issues. But then when asked about the federal stimulus bill backed by President Obama, Meek praised the measure -- and then bashed Greene for his role in Wall Street scandals. We would have gone into a depression, not a recession, if it wasnt for the stimulus bill, said Meek before bringing up Greenes record again. Greene went back to his background in business -- and job creation.

The 8th Congressional District in Orlando has become the epicenter of a three-way squabble among Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, seven Republican challengers and TEA Party candidate Peg Dunmire. Dunmire, rumored to have received $7,500 from Grayson or his backers, vehemently denies that claim. She acknowledges receiving that amount of "in-kind" support from the TEA Party in the form of "press conferences and media relations," but, she adds, "There was no money in that at all."

Sure, one is a congressman and one is a billionaire. They have different styles of campaigning and debating. But Jeff Greene and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek shared some of the same positions. They were both open to nuclear power in Florida if it is safe. Both expressed support for Israel and were critical of President Barack Obamas policies towards that nation. They both were critical of Iran. They are not that different on the issues.

Jeff Greene has been very effective in presenting his biography in this debate. He responded to U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meeks claim that he was not a Floridian by reminding the congressman that he got his drivers license in West Palm Beach when Meek was 3 years old. He brought up the fact that he washed dishes at the Breakers. Greene said he was the only candidate who signed the front and back of paychecks, and blasted Meeks record in Congress. Meek is doing better in the debate now -- talking about the oil spill and Social Security. But Meek sounds like a broken record.

This is pretty cool. The State Emergency Response Team has created an interactive map that plots out the oil's impact on the state, color codes it to show severity, and points out the location of oil skimmers. It also updates regularly with on-the-ground reports from response teams and links to pictures of the tar balls, patties and sheen threatening Northwest Florida shores.

Who is the experienced politician here? The second question was to Jeff Greene, asking him about his role in making money on credit defaults. Greene used the question to offer his own biography -- a self-made man as opposed to his foe Kendrick Meek who inherited his congressional seat from his mother. Greene took exception to Meeks take that Greenes investing in credit defaults was putting money against Floridians. My investments were against the biggest banks on Wall Street, said Greene.

The debate between U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene started with both candidates being aggressive. Greene started on the attack -- blasting Meek for taking contributions from BP and calling him more of the same. Meek offered more of a biographical introduction, reminding voters that he had served as a state trooper.

Anxious about the Gulf oil spill's impact on nontourism businesses, six Panhandle counties are asking Gov. Charlie Crist to secure an extra $14 million from British Petroleum to spur nontourism job growth.

An hour before the first debate with Jeff Greene, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meeks team is already trying to spin the clash between the two leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.